Arsenal take on Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon in a crucial fixture that could determine Mikel Arteta’s side’s fortunes for the rest of the Premier League season.
Defeat to the Blues would see Enzo Maresca’s team cut the gap with the Gunners to just three points, and would essentially pull the North Londoners into the top four race.
Meanwhile, a victory would see Arsenal tighten their grip on second place and would allow them to somewhat shift their focus on to the Champions League moving forward.
Arteta has a full squad to pick from for the game, aside from the four long-term absentees, and he faces a difficult decision as to who deploy as the central striker.
Mikel Arteta should start Gabriel Martinelli up front against Chelsea
Kai Havertz is out for the season with a hamstring injury, while Gabriel Jesus will be absent for at least another seven months after tearing his CL.
Arteta has been without the two strikers for over a month now, and has largely opted to utilise Mikel Merino as a number nine.
Merino has struggled up front since scoring twice away at Leicester City, and thus, it’s time for the Arsenal boss to make a change in this department.
The Spanish coach hasn’t had the option of Gabriel Martinelli in this striker-less period, but he ought to experiment with the winger as a centre-forward against Chelsea.
Merino isn’t going to lead Arsenal to the promised land in the Champions League as the starting number nine, and Arteta should subsequently be looking at various other options before the Real Madrid tie.
Martinelli has the potential to be the best striker currently available to Arteta, with his pace, movement and ability to get good shots off in the box meaning his attributes most closely align with what you’d expect from the position.
The Brazilian burst onto the scene in the 2019/20 campaign as a striker, scoring ten goals that season at the age of 18, and Arteta should look to reignite this side of the player.
The 23-year-old has failed to light the Emirates up when he’s been pushed out to the touchline, struggling to beat his full-back on a consistent basis.
However, what has never been in question about the player is his movement and finishing ability – strengths that can be emphasised as a central striker.
Chelsea aren’t likely to sit in a low block, making this specific game more suited to Martinelli, as there should be space in behind the Blues’ backline for him to exploit.
Jurgen Klopp once described Martinelli as an ‘incredible striker’ – a potential indication of his quality in this position.
Gabriel Martinelli’s Europa League statistics 2019/20
The only bit of data of a reasonable sample size of Martinelli playing as a striker is from the 2019/20 Europa League group stage, and it makes for impressive reading.
The Brazil international started four of the six group games as a centre-forward, scoring three goals and providing three assists in the process.
| Martinelli’s Europa League Statistics 2019/20 | |
| Appearances | 7 |
| Goals | 3 |
| Asssists | 3 |
| Shots per 90 | 2.97 |
| Expected Goals per 90 | 0.68 |
| Key Passes per 90 | 1.7 |
| Expected Assists per 90 | 0.28 |
| Successful Take-ons per 90 | 1.7 |
While the calibre of opposition certainly doesn’t equate to the 2024/25 iteration of Chelsea, the numbers are still promising.
Taking almost three shots per 90 minutes and amassing 0.68 expected goals per 90, Martinelli carries significant goal threat when deployed as a striker.
Meanwhile, he also contributed creatively, registering three assists and 0.28 expected assists per game, indicating that he wouldn’t be limited to being purely a poacher if Arteta was to call upon this ploy on Sunday.
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